WB-IIT KGP-DIAGNOSTIC DEVICE

Kolkata, Aug 13 (PTI) Researchers from IIT Kharagpur
have developed a low-cost diagnostic device which can
perform various pathological tests by using blood taken from a
fingerprick.

The device requires only a paper strip based kit
integrated with a smartphone to enable analytics and readout
functions and an LED light for imaging, an IIT KGP statement
said on Tuesday.

The key aspect of the kit, developed by a research
team led by Prof Suman Chakraborty, is operational simplicity
and extremely low running cost, it said.

While under laboratory conditions each test would cost
Re 1 or even less, the cost is expected to marginally vary in
case of commercialisation of the product, the statement said.

On the operational front, the device requires a single
drop of blood and a drop of reagent (a substance used to cause
a chemical reaction) on the paper-based reaction chamber.

This detection method is designed to harness the flow
of blood from an input source pad to a reaction pad for
diagnosis.

"Compared to other reported portable devices for
haemoglobin estimation, this device is implementable without
any trained personnel at resource-limited settings,
Chakraborty said.

Extensive validation tests have been conducted for
blood glucose and haemoglobin at laboratories as well as in
the field, both in clinical environment and villages with
limited clinical facilities.

"We have tested it at extreme challenging environment
with uncontrolled dirt, dust and humidity, and in the absence
of structured clinics or air-conditioned pathological
laboratories to work," Dr Satadal Saha, visiting professor at
the School of Medical Science and Technology of IIT Kharagpur,
said.

Saha along with Chakraborty led the joint team for
field work. PTI SUS
MM MM

Disclaimer :- This story has not been edited by Outlook staff and is auto-generated from news agency feeds. Source: PTI